Chapter 234: Uncle

Lin Yu’s memory of this “uncle” had already faded somewhat.

In his impression, he was a fat man who always squinted his eyes. When Lin Yu was little, his family squeezed together with his grandparents in an old ancestral house in the old district. Back then, this uncle had already moved out. It was said that when the family split up, Grandpa had shown favoritism and directly transferred a better street-facing house to him.

That move lasted decades.

This uncle became like a relative living at the edge of the world—aside from showing up during holidays with his wife and child to “inspect” things, he couldn’t even be bothered to make a phone call.

Lin Yu didn’t know whether the uncle came back out of filial duty or for other reasons, but he knew one thing clearly—

He absolutely hated that cousin from the uncle’s family.

The cousin’s name was Lin Han, the apple of the uncle’s eye, spoiled since childhood. Lin Yu didn’t see him often, but every time he came back, he would flop onto the sofa, clutch his phone, playing games loudly as if no one else existed.

And the only time he ever spoke to Grandpa, it was always just two words:

“Give money.”

Compared to the rarely seen uncle, this cousin came back much more frequently.

Once, when Lin Yu’s parents weren’t home, that cousin pushed the door open and shouted at Grandpa, saying he didn’t have enough money for an overnight session at an internet café and wanted more.

Grandpa refused.

The argument quickly exploded in the living room.

“Damn it, you old thing! You’ve got so much pension—saving it to take into your coffin?! Give it to me!”

That was the first time Lin Yu had ever heard a younger generation speak to an elder like that.

At the time, Grandma trembled as she hurried little Lin Yu into the inner room and blocked the door—but it was useless.

He could still clearly hear the argument outside, the sound of a glass shattering, and… pushing and shoving.

Grandpa’s coughing shouts sounded like a broken bellows, tugging painfully at Lin Yu’s heart.

After who knows how long, with a heavy slam of the door, everything finally fell silent.

The cousin left—probably because he had gotten the money in the end.

How much?

Grandpa never said. Maybe a few hundred, maybe a thousand.

Anyway, Lin Yu had never asked for that much money.

He didn’t really know how much Grandpa had.

He remembered his parents mentioning that Grandpa used to be a manager at a state-owned enterprise. In a small county, his pension was considered quite substantial.

Logically speaking, that money should have been enough for a decent life.

But…

Money is never enough.

High blood pressure, diabetes, and the constant heart medication…

His grandparents’ bodies were like a bottomless pit.

Even though his parents lived frugally, Lin Yu’s childhood memories were still filled with the word “tight.”

Perhaps it was from that time that a seed called “greed for money” was deeply planted in Lin Yu’s heart.

As long as there’s money, everything will be fine.

If we had enough money, we could…

As his grandparents passed away one after another, the last thread holding together the façade of family ties completely snapped.

Lin Yu’s family and his uncle’s family basically became strangers, no longer in contact.

So Lin Yu never expected that he would run into this detestable face again in Xin Hai City.

Looking at the pot-bellied man in front of him, Lin Yu felt anger surge up inside him.

At that moment, he really wanted to grab the old man by the collar and demand:

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

But…

Facing an elder he hadn’t seen for years, he couldn’t just slap him outright.

The muscles on Lin Yu’s face twitched slightly as he tried to force out an expression called “pleasant surprise,” but his stiff lips only managed an awkward curve.

“Oh… Uncle. What a coincidence, running into you here.”

He wanted to be more worldly, more smooth—after all, he was now a “respectable person.”

But facing this face that made him physically uncomfortable, he just couldn’t do it.

“What are you doing eating at this restaurant too?”

Before Lin Yu could finish his polite exchange, the uncle had already taken over the conversation, his tone carrying undisguised bragging.

“This place… is quite expensive. Not something ordinary people can afford.”

As he spoke, he looked Lin Yu up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, as if assessing how much his outfit was worth.

“Expensive? It’s alright.”

Lin Yu straightened his back subtly.

“My parents came to Xin Hai City for a visit today. I thought this place was nice, so I brought them here.”

“Oh! Jianguo is here too?”

The uncle’s eyes immediately lit up. His enthusiasm suddenly surged, as if he hadn’t just said “ordinary people can’t afford it.”

“Hahaha! What a coincidence! Haven’t seen him in years, and we run into each other here!”

“And you, Uncle? Here for tourism too?”

Lin Yu asked casually.

“Ah, tourism? Nothing like that.”

The uncle chuckled, clearly having been waiting for this question. The fat on his face bunched into a grin.

“No, no—your cousin just passed the civil service exam here in Xin Hai City! We came to celebrate for him!”

“…Passed the civil service exam?”

Lin Yu froze for a moment, almost thinking he misheard.

That impressive?

He knew very well how hard it was to get a civil service position in Xin Hai City.

It was like thousands competing to cross a single log bridge. Even a basic district office position had graduates from top universities fighting tooth and nail.

And that cousin…

If his memory was correct, that guy had scored just over 200 on the college entrance exam and was sent to a private junior college with family money.

Not that he looked down on junior colleges, but for that guy—who only knew how to mooch off family—to pass the civil service exam in a hyper-competitive city like Xin Hai?

Lin Yu felt the credibility of that claim was thinner than tap water in this restroom.

But he had no interest in exposing it or getting entangled with this family, so he just nodded perfunctorily:

“That’s good. Nice. Congratulations.”

“Hey, which private room are you in?”

The uncle pressed on, clearly unwilling to let him go.

“How about—”

“Hey!”

A sharp shout suddenly came from the doorway.

Lin Yu turned his head to see an elderly man in a cleaner’s uniform, with a full head of white hair, storming in angrily.

“Who threw the cigarette butt?!”

The old man spoke Mandarin with a heavy accent, sounding somewhat awkward—likely one of those migrant workers doing basic labor to obtain a temporary residence permit in Xin Hai City.

“It was you, right?!”

He pointed at the uncle by the urinal and shouted angrily,

“I saw you walk in with a cigarette! This is a non-smoking restaurant! Why are people like you so uncivilized?! Do you know how bad the urinal smells now?!”

“Hey, what kind of tone is that from a toilet cleaner…”

The uncle, being publicly scolded, couldn’t keep face and was about to put on his elder authority and argue back.

Taking advantage of the argument between the cleaner and the uncle—

Lin Yu didn’t hesitate at all. He slipped away like oil under his feet and darted out of the restroom.

“Phew… that was close.”

He jogged all the way back to the private room door, steadied his breathing, then pushed it open.

Inside, the atmosphere was still lively.

The dishes on the table had already been replaced with a new round—clearly his parents were quite satisfied with the food.

His father’s face was flushed from drinking, speaking loudly to Lin Xue, clearly in high spirits.

His mother was also smiling, holding her phone and taking pictures of the dishes—probably to post on social media.

Lin Yu glanced around.

Wait…

That guy Luo Shaotian still hasn’t arrived?

He looked down at his bracelet. It had already been nearly an hour past the agreed time.

Is Xin Hai City traffic completely paralyzed?

Did the jam stretch all the way to the Pacific Ocean?

“Son, why were you gone so long? Stomach upset?”

Mother Zhang asked with concern as she saw him return.

“It’s fine, just took a call.”

Lin Yu casually made up an excuse and sat back down.

He was still thinking about how to explain Luo Shaotian’s absence and was just about to say something to change the topic—

“Ah—!”

Suddenly, the private room door was pushed open again.

“Oh my—! There you are! You really are here!”